When the Leader Leads

03.24.2022

So grateful for every day we have had together
Taya got sick very quickly
Just a month ago we were out exploring
A little more than a month we were out
Deep in the bush on a true adventure
Now she is tired
She is resting a lot
And if the medication stops working for even a few hours
There is not much of a choice of what we will need to do
For now
We cherish these final moments
Yet we give each other space
Her and I
We knew from day 1 this would be hard
So we have been preparing since then
We have always been deeply bonded
Yet both independent in so many ways
She has been more of a friend or a teacher to me than a dog
And though I had to teach her a lot
She taught me a lot more

It’s crazy it took 13 years to look back and see the truth
No trainer ever figured anything out
No trainer ever realized anything
No trainer ever learned anything
Without a dog teaching it to them

13 years to see that she taught me everything I know
Dogs are just so humble
They don’t need to take the credit

There is an only Chinese proverb
It says “when the leader has truly lead the followers, they look back one day and say to themselves, look at what amazing things we accomplished by working together.”
She never took the credit and neither will I
What we did
We did together
Tho now I can see
She was the leader
And I was the follower